Captain Cohen’s Rallying Cry

Nottingham Forest captain Chris Cohen says a win against promotion-chasing Queens Park Rangers would provide everyone at the club with ‘a real boost’.

The Reds travel to Loftus Road on Saturday (kick-off 12.22pm) knowing that victory in the lunchtime game would close the gap on the Sky Bet Championship playoff places to one point.

And the skipper says the potential to gain an edge over their fellow playoff chasers will give his teammates extra motivation to take three points in West London.

Cohen told Forest Player: “Our record against teams at the top of the table has been very good. It is a great game, live on television, and it gives us a chance to close the gap on the playoff places to one point before the other teams play.

“That is a massive incentive for the lads because we know we can put pressure on Reading who don’t play until Monday night. But we need to forget about other teams. The race for playoffs is in our hands and we need to start winning games.

“To go down to QPR and win would give the players, staff and supporters a real boost. But the season is at the business end now and we know that we can’t afford to drop many more points before it ends.”

He said: “Everything is going really well. The recovery is ahead of schedule and I’m hoping to be back at the start of pre-season. You never know when a setback could come but things are going as well as possible at the moment.

“I can do most things but I’m still not ready to play competitive football. The biggest problem would be getting knocked off balance and doing some extra damage.

“I’m still a few weeks away from getting back on the grass and doing some running. The plan is to be back in time for 1 July for when the new manager arrives and to prepare for next season.”

Click here to watch the full interview with Chris Cohen on Forest Player.